Circuit-breaker.



A. GUERRA. CIRCUIT BREAKER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 11, 1912.

1,077,829, Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

WITNESSES INVENTOR lnge/ Cuerrq ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT GFFISE.

A ANGEL GUERRA, OF CELAYA, BIEXICO.

CIRCUIT-B REAKER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANGEL GUERRA, a citizen of the Republic of Mexico, and a resident of Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico, have invented a new and Improved Circuit- Breaker, of which the following is afull,

clear, and exact description.

This invention relates generally to electric circuit; breakers, and, more particularly, it is directed to a thermo-electric apparatus.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a new and improved and thermallycontr'. lled circuit breaker adapted to open a circuit under certain conditions of load.

The apparatus embodying the inventive idea is characterized by a movable element adapted to form part of the circuit, the. said element being moved into. position to open the said circuit through the medium of an expansible rod, the expansibility of which is determined by the heating efl'ect of the current.

Other objects and advantages of the invention, not particularly pointed out, will appear as the description thereof proceeds,

the new and useful features being included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the views, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the circuit breaker with the cover removed; Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

The mechanism comprises any suitable standard or base 1, preferably of porcelain,

or other non-conducting material having openings 2 therein, whereby it may be secured in position. The central portion or" the'base on the top side is preferably elevated, as at 3, and one side of the base is provided with an upstanding integral portion 4 having openings'fi therein, through which the wires 6 pass.

Suitably secured in any desirable manner to the portion 3 of the base is a block 7 having a rod 8 extending upwardly therefrom.

the rod being made of metal, zinc being.

preferably employed, there being a wire wound in the form of a spiral J surround mg this rod S, one end of the spiral 10 lead- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 4:, 1913,

Application filed September 11, 1912. Serial No. 719,740.

ing to a conducting block 11, preferably of copper and provided with a binding post 12, whereby one of the wires 6 may be placed in electrical contact with the said spiral. Also secured to the base 1 is a bracket 13 having an adjustable contacting screw 14 carried thereby, there being a second adjustable contacting screw 15 secured to the base and carried on a second bracket'lfi secured to the conducting block 17 which is provided with the binding post 13, whereby the other wire 6 may be placed in electrical contact therewith. Secured to the upper end of the metal rod 8 and extending leterally therefrom is a resilient arm 19, the arm, under normal conditions, contacting with the said adjustable screws 14 and 15.

Extending upwardly from the base 1 is a threaded post 20 having an opening 21 therethrough, the post receiving a cover 22, preferably of metal, whereby all of the parts are inclosed, a winged nut 23 being employed to prevent removal of the cover, removal of the nut being in turn prevented by means of a lead'seal 24, the wire of which passes through the said opening2l in the post 20.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, it willbe noted that, if a circuit embodying the parts shown is closed, current will flow from the block 11 through the spiral 9, thence from the resilient arm 19, through the bracket 16, to the block 17, and thence to the other wire 6. The wire which forms the spiral 9 is so wound that the ditl'erent parts thereof are out of contact with adjacent turns and the resistance of the spiral. is determined in accordance with the current which is to circulate through it. The heating cti'ect. of the current flowing through the coil 9 raises the temperature of the rod 8 and if the heating effect is great enough, which means that if the current flowing through the spiral is greater than intended, the rod 8 will expand; the expansion of the rod will move the free end of the resilient arm 19 downwardly out of contact with the adjusting screw 15, thereby opening the circuit, the adjusting screw 14 serving as a fulcrum.

This mechanism is intended primarily for use in lighting ciri'uits and the resistance of the spiral 9 will depend on the maximum load that the circuit is to carry; it is used as a safeguard to the light and power company to prevent customers paying for a certain number of lights from using a great er ment of the m rews 14 and 15. The interior of the cover may be preferably lined with nor -cond.uct ing material in order to preventdampness from entering the mechanism.

The device is ada ted to a multiplicity of uses apart from that set forth, it being also capableof serving as a flasher with electric signs. The size-of the different parts will, of course, depend upon the installation with which one particular mechanism is to be employed and various changes may be IIlfl-dQ'iIl the size and arrangement of the parts and the choice of materials, the resulting structure still embodying the inventive idea disclosed.

Having thus described my invention, 1

ters Patent:-

1. A circuit breaker, comprising a plurality of posts adapted to be connected to wires in an electric circuit, a thermally exclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letpansible rod, convolutions of wire on the rod, an arm secured at one end to one end of the rod and extending laterally therefrom, one end of the said wire bemgconnected to ,one of the posts, the other end hemgconnected to the said arm, an adjust able contacting screw connected to the other post and normally contacting with the said arm, and a second adjustable screw. engaging the rod between the point of attachment thereof with the said expansible element and the said first screw, whereby when current flows throu h the said convolutions the expansion of the said element will bring the arm out of engagement with the first screw, thereby opening the circuit.

2. A circuit breaker, comprising a base, conducting blocks on the base and to which the wires are attached, a block secured to the base, an expansible rod carried by the block, an arm secured at one end to the upper end of the rod, 2. wire coiled around the rod and having one end secured to one of the conducting blocks and its other end engaging the arm of the rod, a bracket secured to the base adjacent the upper end of the "expansible rod and carrying a contact screw engaging the upper face of the arm of the rod, and a bracket secured to one of the conducting blocks and carrying a contact screw with which the upper face of the free end of the said arm is adapted to engage.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ANGEL GUERRA.

Witnesses:

J. G. ALVABOZ, S. LQUROY. 

